Page 40 - The Local Eye - Issue 138 - April 2017

40

Project Indigo
One boy’s adventure through time and space!

Hi, I’m Tom, a local Doctor Who blogger & I write about my adventures online at
anadventurethroughtimeandspace.com
Project Indigo is my special blog where I travel the world (mainly
the UK!) visiting places associated with Doctor Who.
This month we are visiting a special ship in Charlestown in
Cornwall, filming location for the 2011 Doctor Who episode ‘The
Curse of the Black Spot’. In this episode the Eleventh Doctor, Amy
and Rory are aboard a ship called The Fancy in 1699. The pirate
crew believe they are being attacked by a Siren and that the curse
of the black spot is upon them!
In real life The Fancy is actually a tall ship called The Phoenix of
Dell Quay and she is moored in Charlestown. She was built in 1929
in Denmark and her first job was to carry people around the world
to spread the word about Christian beliefs. After 20 years she became a cargo ship until
one day there was a fire which damaged her engine room. Like the Doctor, The Phoenix
has had many regenerations - her first life was as a schooner, then she regenerated into a
Brigantine, then a Caravel and finally the two-masted brig that she is today.
The Phoenix is a famous film and TV star and has starred in many other things besides
Doctor Who. She played the Santa Maria in 1492 Conquest of Paradise which told the story
of Christopher Columbus. So technically she discovered America! She has also appeared in
Hornblower, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The TV Series The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and In
the Heart of the Sea starring Chris Hemsworth.
Charlestown is also a filming location for many shows - most famously Poldark starring
Aiden Turner. Charlestown is a port that has remained true to its original Georgian style. It
was built in the 1790s by entrepreneur Charles Rashleigh to import coal and export copper
because of the growing mining industry in the area. Soon china clay was being exported
too and still is to this day. The China Clay industry around St
Austell progressed massively and by the 19th Century over
65,000 tonnes of China Clay were exported from Cornwall
every year!
Charlestown remains near enough unspoilt, still a working
harbour, and around thirty china clay ships still dock there
every year. It really does feel like you have travelled there in
a TARDIS as it has not changed - and hopefully it never will.
Thank you for reading and if you would like to read about
other Doctor Who locations I have visited please check out
my blog. Goodbye!

Tom Project Indigo -- anadventurethroughtimeandspace.com

A zookeeper is restocking new animals. As he fills out the
forms, he types “two mongeese.” That doesn’t look right, so he tries
“two mongoose,” then “two mongooses.” Giving up, he types, “One
mongoose, and while you’re at it, send another one.”
..................
A Frenchman walks into a bar with a parrot on his shoulder. The bird
is wearing a baseball cap. The bartender says, “Hey, that’s neat. Where
did you get that?”
The parrot says, “France—they’ve got millions of them there.”
To advertise <> 08000 430485 <> email: info@thelocaleye.com <> www.thelocaleye.com

LE April 2017.indd 40 23/03/2017 13:08:23